The Wire Rope History and Terminology starts the invention by the German mining engineer Wilhelm Albert in the years between 1831 and 1834 for use in mining in the Harz Mountains in Lower Saxony in Germany. It was quickly determined (and accepted) because it was a dam site better than ropes made of hemp or to metal chains, such as had been used before. (sort of explains why there were no (real) elevators back then…)
And when you talk about the machine that is wire rope – the relevant terms are: Wire, Strand, Core, and Rope
Knowing the terminology, we can now talk about manufacturing or constructing a wire rope. Given its origins, it is not surprising that the process of making a rope from wire is similar to making one from natural fibers.
- Wire – the indivisible strands which are the smallest component used in the construction of wire rope,
- Strand – the ‘package’ or bundle into which wires are wound. The number of wires in a strand can vary greatly and the wires do not have to be of exactly the same size.
- Core – the thing (if any) is the ‘thing’ around which the strands are wound. This core may consist of steel, but also of natural fibers such as sisal, manila, henequen, jute, or hemp. This is used to cushion off stress forces when bending the rope.; and
- Rope – the final product which is made from strands of wire wrapped around a core in a precisely controlled pattern and direction.
And by varying a VERY large number of factors – and the pattern itself – we can create the complex device that is structural wire rope. And we can create it with exceptionally predictable properties.
Now our friend Wilhelm Albert’s first ropes consisted of wires twisted about a hemp rope core, six such strands then being twisted around another hemp rope core in alternating directions for extra stability Thus we had the first Fiber Core Rope – which had a Structure. Earlier forms of wire rope had been made by covering a bundle of wires with hemp – forming the first Fiber Core Wire Rope.
As is often the case, inventions were happening around the world – so in America wire rope was later manufactured by John A. Roebling, forming the basis for his success in suspension bridge building. Roebling introduced a number of innovations in the design, materials and manufacture of wire rope.